Adjudication No. 1015 (February 1999) [1999] APC 9

ADJUDICATION No. 1015 (February 1999)

The Australian Press Council has considered two complaints made by the Korrawinga Aboriginal Corporation against the Fraser Coast Chronicle. Both articles were published on 18 January 1999. The Council has dismissed one complaint and noted that the newspaper had acknowledged its mistake in relation to the other.

The first complaint concerned the description published by the newspaper of a person suspected of an armed hold up. The newspaper quoted the description issued by the police which contained the words "the male offender was believed to be of Aboriginal appearance". The complainant claimed that the newspaper should have used the words "dark complexion" in the description as it was not certain that the person being sought was an Aboriginal.

However, the newspaper was quoting the police description and could not be criticised for so acting. The complaint is accordingly dismissed.

The second complaint related to the reporting of a court case which referred in a headline and in the accompanying article to the past catching up with "an Aboriginal woman". There was no suggestion that the woman's race was relevant to the crimes of which she was convicted. The newspaper published a letter which made this point and added an editorial acknowledgment that conceded it had not acted properly. Additionally it reiterated to its staff its guidelines on the reporting of such matters.

It was a gratuitous reference to a person's race in breach of the Press Council's principles but, in view of the newspaper's public acknowledgment of its error, the Council considers that no further action on its part is necessary.